I have had my T-28 almost two and a half years now and it has a lot of flight time on it. Although the Navy trainer scheme looks cool and really hits home since I was raised and flew around Whiting/Pensacola NAS, it has become a bit tired for me and doesn't stand out well with any other Trojans. With this, I decided to repaint it - but with a twist. Instead of just shooting straight on the foam, I used a technique I found that worked incredibly well on my Super Cub. It is indeed simple, but involves covering the airframe with simple packing tape and then shooting on top of that.

The first step is to strip the airframe of any color since it will be covered in clear tape, anything beneath can be difficult to cover up. I disassembled the aircraft while removing all factory decals just by carefully peeling them off. Next, I used plain old 91% isopropyl alcohol that can be found at any drug store and a sock to remove the paint itself.

Once everything is removed, you should have a plain Jane airframe. Mine is of course white, though the newer Air Force T-28 would end up the greyish color instead. This is fine, as long as there is a sense of uniformity - we want an even color to spray paint over. As well, you can see a few spots that I did not remove paint from, such as right behind the firewall. This was out of sheer energy conservation since the cowling would cover that anyways and it will not be seen when completed.

Since I was a kid, I have always loved flying. It might have to do with the fact that it runs pretty deep in my family in regards to the interest of it. My grandfather began flying at nineteen years old in a Cub. He was diagnosed with diabetes which revoked his flying medical, but did nothing to hamper his interest in aviation. He built models and flew radio control all of his life from warbirds and aerobats, to his favorites which were WWI fighters. Here he is with the faithful J-3 in the late thirties.

My father was born and raised around aviation because of him, and the location of his hometown couldn't be much better at Eglin AFB. Growing up, my old man got to see everything from F-89s to F-4s, including the gamut of bombers and other aircraft such as the Super Sabres, SAC B-52s, Hustlers and the like. He started flying R/C in the late sixties and picked up full scale flying with fixed wing and parafoil ultralights in 2000. He was the biggest influence, and although I had been interested and even flying sims on the 286 computer, I flew my first real plane at age nine, soloing when I was ten. The plane was a Senior Telemaster which seemed HUGE for a kid, and was powered by a Fox .78 and steered by a basic Futaba.

I have steadily grown with interest and love for flying, always knowing since I was a kid as well that I wanted to fly F-18s off carriers. I have flown off and on both R/C and full size myself and am currently trying to attain my goal of becoming an officer in the United States Navy and flying the Super Hornet. Of course, the planes I began flying have changed from beastly, heavy, and intimidating fuel planes to incredibly friendly electrics, the fun hasn't.